Consumer selection of lamps and other lighting fixtures is primarily based on functionality and appearance. Many different lighting options and lamp and fixture designs exist, such as table lamps, floor lamps, and wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted fixtures, among many others. Each type of lighting fixture or lamp is made in a variety of styles and designs. For example, the manufacture and sale of decorative lamp shades for table lamps is an industry in and of itself. A retailer of lighting fixtures or lamps is more likely to present a customer with one or more items that he or she will want to purchase if the customer is able to choose from a large number of designs and styles of any one kind of lighting fixture. Therefore, a retailer will generally want to maximize the number of items that a customer can conveniently view in the retailer's available space. In addition, it is advantageous for a retailer of such items to be able to display them so that the decorative features of each item can be readily and easily seen without manipulation by the retailer or customer handling.
Another consideration for retailers of lighting fixtures and lamps is the flexibility of a display system to enable the retailer to rapidly and easily modify the items on display, whether to update a line of items, remove old or damaged items, or reconfigure the display to accommodate more or fewer items, depending on the size of each lamp or fixture and the overall appearance of the display. The requirement that an electrical connection be available for each item can limit the flexibility of any lighting display system.
With respect to table lamps and wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures, a number of systems have been developed to meet retailers' needs. In particular, systems for displaying lamps on tilted shelves, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,280,066 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,644, maximize retail space for displaying various types of lamps and enable the items to be displayed at an angle so that the decorative base of each lamp can be seen. Another example is the energy efficient system for displaying wall-mounted and ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,142,460, in which the ceiling-mounted lighting fixtures are supported by horizontally-extending projections that are permanently attached to a vertical wall.
Further examples include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,921, which discloses a lighting fixture display system that supports wall-mounted lighting and related items; U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,705, which discloses a system including a vertical grooved panel and plurality of horizontal brackets mounted thereon for displaying electrical fixtures including wall-mounted lighting fixtures; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,885,147, which discloses a system of fixture-supporting brackets that extend vertically or diagonally from wall-mounted channel members.
Floor lamps such as torchieres present unique problems to a retailer. Such lamps usually have a tall stem portion with a base and a bowl-shaped top part that diffuses the light or directs it upward. The top bowl-shaped part likely has the most decorative features and must be viewable to customers. Floor lamps take up a significant portion of a retailer's floor space, and cannot be practically displayed elsewhere without obscuring or making it difficult for a customer to see the decorative features of the top bowl-shaped part. Like a table lamp, a floor lamp usually requires an electrical connection at its base. However, due to the dimensions and unwieldy shape of most floor lamps, displaying such lamps anywhere other than on the floor has been a practical impossibility.